Katy Bartholome was bitten by a snake and went almost two days without anti-venom.

"As soon as I put weight down on my foot, I felt immediate pain," she said. "It was like a bullet went through my ankle."

Bartholome said she thinks the snake that bit her was a copperhead. She became nauseated and started to vomit from the venom.

"I ended up having a reaction on my leg. It was horrible," she said.

"We are pretty much halfway through snake bite season. We are on pace to more than double what we've seen in the past," said Dr. Stephen Thorton, a toxicologist from the University of Kansas Hospital. "It's the biggest number we've seen in many, many years."

So far, area poison control centers have seen 11 rattlesnake bites, seven bites from copperheads and two bites from cottonmouths. There have been 10 additional venomous snake bites reported.

Bartholome ran into problems with her snake bite and didn't actually get anti-venom for nearly 48 hours. On top of that, a misinformed friend tried to lend a hand by using his mouth.

"My friends said he was a previous EMT and said, 'I'll suck the venom out,' and he just started to suck the venom out," she said.

Thorton said that while the intent was good, that's a bad idea.

"Cutting, sucking, electricity, tourniquets, ice -- those are things that work in the movies, but don't really work in real life," he said.

Experts said anyone who thinks they've been bitten by a snake should get to a hospital as soon as possible for a dose of anti-venom.

"There are studies showing that even copperhead bites that people think may not be that big of deal can cause long-term problems, if not treated aggressively," Thorton said.